dancing brothers

[Marijn]

What was the name of the fantastic dancing brothers who were famous about the same time as Fred Astaire?They were black, they may have been twins, I can't remember.

[Marijn]

Jno, the Nicholas Brothers may well have been able to act, and with passion too, they may even have been able to dance with passion too (like Fred and Ginger did).
As you say their dance was the fun bit, but apparently that's all they were allowed to do, because they were discriminated against because of their colour. They wouldn't probably have been asked to play leading men.

[jno]

hi, notafish, I meant that as they danced with each other, rather than with someone of the opposite sex, their dances wouldn't be romantic ones in the way that Fred and Ginger's were. But yes, it's quite possible that they could have done much more if they'd been given the chance. But roles for black people were almost nil until Sidney Poitier came along in the 1960s. Even now, though black actors are allowed to play wise old men like Morgan Freeman, Will Smith seems to be the only one allowed to be the lead male in big-budget movies like am Legend. Still, I'm grateful for the material the brothers did do - I love it.

[jno]

Tula Finklea, eh, IaP?

Mind you, she never thought much of my real name either...

[Cetti]

Getting back to the wonderful brothers,notafish, I don't know if you've seen this one or not, but I think it gives an idea of the time very well. Smoky clubs, a bit on the shady side - and the music loud... the brothers sre very young here. I like this very much, a good bluesy sound at the beginning of the clip:

http://www.dailymotion.com/group/36139/video/x15x1 h_eubie-blake-or-nicholas-brothers-19

[Marijn]

I like that very much too. Thank you :-)

[Marijn]

Jno, you're right. It hadn't occur to me before now, that things aren't that much better for black actors these days. I'm struggling to think of any young black actors who play the lead role, other than Will Smith.

[Marijn]

Eddie Murphy? In comedies though.

[jno]

yes, good point, notafish. Denzel Washington has had his moments too, and Halle Berry, but none of them has really got consistently good jobs the way someone like Brad Pitt does.

[Cetti]

You've reminded me jno, of seeing 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner' in the 1960's - was it then?

I didn't realise it at the time but I imagine that film was real groundbreaking stuff, as it was the era of the Civil Rights marches and Martin Luther King. The music of the time - and still my favourite, was Tamla Motown and the old bluesmen like John Lee hooker etc - all black artists and the best. in the world.

[jno]

that's right, Cetti, and it really was groundbreaking. Black man in relationship with white woman! I remember the fuss - I don't know that anyone actually objected (though they may well have done in the southern USA) but it was certainly unusual. Poitier had earlier made The Defiant Ones when he played a convict who escaped - chained to another one, Tony Curtis. The moral was that black and white had to get along or else. Poitier was the token black man in Hollywood for a long time till finally people like Eddie Murphy and Richard Roundtree (and, er, OJ Simpson!) started to pick up acting jobs.

[Marijn]

I remember that Halle Berry cried when she got an Oscar because she was the first black actor to ever get an Oscar. Have I remembered that right?

[jno]

first one to be Best Actress, I think. Hattie McDaniel (in Gone with the Wind) and Whoopi Goldberg (in Ghost) had best supporting actress Oscars.

[Marijn]

Thanks for replying ; )